Students learn about the true costs of credit cards

Bankruptcy Judge, John C. Ninfo II, has made it a priority to educate young people about the pitfalls of credit cards. Having founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program or CARE over ten years ago, Judge Ninfo has traveled around the country speaking to high school and college students about developing good money management skills and how to avoid debt.

Wayne Post

Writer

Posted Jan. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 14, 2013 at 2:20 PM

Posted Jan. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 14, 2013 at 2:20 PM

Ontario Center, N.Y.

Bankruptcy Judge, John C. Ninfo II, has made it a priority to educate young people about the pitfalls of credit cards. Having founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program or CARE over ten years ago, Judge Ninfo has traveled around the country speaking to high school and college students about developing good money management skills and how to avoid debt.

Throughout the presentation, Judge Ninfo shared numerous stories about real people who ended up in bankruptcy court owing thousands of dollars in credit card debt. “No one stops you from using credit cards. You can be as irresponsible as you want,” stated Ninfo.

Judge Ninfo encouraged young people to use consumer credit wisely and with caution. He believes the best way to mange debt is to avoid it and that is the message he passes along to students. “If you can’t pay off your credit card at the end of each month, then you should not use it”, stated Judge Ninfo.

Students at Wayne Central were amazed to hear that some people had over 24 credit cards that were maxed out and that the average family has approximately $15,000 in credit card debt.

John C. Ninfo, II received his B.S. in Psychology Degree from Georgetown University in 1968 and J.D. Degree from Boston University Law School in 1973. He was appointed as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York in January, 1992. He served as a member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Second Circuit for the four years it was in existence, as a member of the Bankruptcy Committee for the Second Circuit and a seven-year term as Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York. For 18 years prior to taking the bench, Judge Ninfo was with the law firm of Underberg & Kessler in Rochester, New York where his concentration was in the areas of bankruptcy, banking and commercial law.

Judge Ninfo served in the United States Marine Corps from 1968 - 1970 and was Chief Legal Clerk to the Judge Advocate General of the 4th Marine Air Wing.

In the Fall of 2002, Judge Ninfo founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) Program (www.careprogram.us), a personal finance literacy education outreach program that provides interested and caring judges, trustees, attorneys and court staff members from the Bankruptcy Community to high schools and colleges to share with students their unique knowledge and experiences and to provide them with lessons, tactics and techniques they need in order to help them lead a financially responsible, consumer debt-free life.